Virginia Beach City Public Schools Announces the
“Partners for Safe Teen Driving” Program - Parental Involvement Promotes Safer Driving Habits Among Teens

Curriculum Aimed at Reducing Teen Crashes,
Injuries and Fatalities in the Region

Nationally, traffic crashes are the leading cause of death among teens ranging from 15 to 19 years old. In an effort to further educate the community about these alarming statistics, Virginia Beach City Public Schools is launching a Parent/Teen Education Program that will enhance parental participation in the driver’s education curriculum. The program is a direct result of a grant created by the Allstate Foundation.

Partners for Safe Teen Driving is a unique partnership among Virginia Beach City Public Schools, the Virginia Beach Police Department, and parents and teens. The program goals are to involve parents in the driver’s education process, create awareness of parental responsibilities, generate opportunities for better parent/teen partnerships with regard to driving skills and techniques, and to develop a better understanding of the impact of driver behavior on the community.

Parent/teen meetings will be held at all eleven comprehensive high schools over the next few weeks. Parents of tenth graders are invited to attend with their teen drivers. Meetings will be held in the school auditorium unless otherwise noted in the schedule below.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), car crashes are the number one cause of death among American teenagers and more than 68,000 teens have died in car crashes over the last decade. Novice teen drivers have a higher driver error rate, speed more often than older drivers, have more crashes when other teenagers are in the car, are less likely to use seatbelts, and have more fatal crashes when driving at night.

The IIHS recommends a number of parental guidelines to reduce teen crashes. Parents should:

• Take an active role in teaching their teen to drive;
• Act as role models;
• Restrict night driving;
• Restrict the number of passengers in their teen’s car;
• Require safety belt use;
• Ban driving after drinking, making it clear that it is illegal and dangerous; and
• Choose vehicles for safety when possible.  (Small cars do not offer the best protection in a crash.)

The Allstate Corporation has awarded 56 Agency Hands in the Community Grants in Virginia with a value of $28,000.

For additional information about the Partners for the Safe Teen Driving program, please contact Brenda M. Fuller driver education coordinator, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, at 263.1070.

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